Prattville man enters plea in armed burglary case

PRATTVILLE – A Prattville man has entered a guilty plea in an armed burglary case where his accomplice was shot and killed by the homeowner.

Bryan J. Vance, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of burglary Thursday morning before Circuit Judge Sibley Reynolds. Vance, clothed in blaze orange jail garb, stood before the bench restrained in handcuffs. He admitted that he and Mikel E. Smith, 18, of Marbury, attempted to burglarize a home in the Booth community in the early morning hours of April 4, 2014.

Smith forced his way into the home, armed with a knife, after telling the elderly female homeowner he was having car problems, said Sheriff Joe Sedinger. The homeowner shot Smith five times with a .32 cal Smith and Wesson revolver, and Smith ran out of the home and fell in the yard where he died, courthouse records show.

Vance told Reynolds he was outside in the yard at the time of the incident. A grand jury reviewed the shooting and determined the homeowner acted in self-defense.

As part of the plea deal, the state agreed not to pursue murder and robbery charges in the case, said Ray Hawthorne Jr., the assistant district attorney handling the case. The homeowner, who gets around with the aid of a walker, stood a few feet away from Vance during the proceeding. As Hawthorne relayed to the court how Smith was killed, she lowered her head and sobbed.

"Under Alabama's accomplice law, Mr. Vance is guilty of burglary even though he never entered the residence," Hawthorne said. "Under the same law, he could be charged with the murder of Mr. Smith, his accomplice, even though he didn't fire the shots that killed Mr. Smith."

The state also dropped unrelated misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest that Vance was charged with while out on bond in the burglary case, court records show. Vance will remain in the Autauga Metro Jail until his sentencing on Aug. 8.

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